The Bastard's Crown

by H A CULLEY

  ‘And Burneham?’ Prompted Oswin.

  ‘Burneham has been granted to me.’ At this Rowena fled from the hall sobbing.

  Hugo grasped Oswin’s forearm. ‘Owsin, please understand that I only accepted to make sure that you and your family were secure. I may be the lord of the manor but I want you and your family to run the manor as in time’s past. It was the best I could do for you, please understand that.’

  ‘I do, and I am grateful to you. However, I doubt that Rowena will see it like that.’

  ‘Then tell her that I will gladly exchange Burneham for Farneham or one of the other manors if she would prefer that.’ He said haughtily and with some asperity.

  Roland had watched the exchange quietly and was a little worried that Hugo’s emotions had caused the old arrogance to resurface: arrogance that he thought that his friend had shed with his adolescence. He leaned across.

  ‘Hugo, if your aim is to win Rowena’s affections once more I scarcely think that giving her an ultimatum is going to do much for your cause.’

  Hugo sighed deeply. ‘You are right of course. Oswin, I apologise. Please forget I ever said that. It just seems so hard when I have always had the best interests of your family at heart.’

  ‘I know. I will have a word but I don’t hold out much hope. She seems to have taken the losses we have suffered hardest of all.’

  ~#~

  Hugo and his conroi were on the move again. He had stayed at Burneham long enough to see the motte for the castle started and had appointed Wulfric to be its constable with instructions to recruit a few men-at-arms to supplement the three sergeants as its garrison. Oswin had been officially appointed as bailiff and would continue to live in the hall with his mother and sister. The castle would eventually be Hugo’s residence during his visits. All this would have put a severe strain on the knight’s meagre finances had Oswin not offered to pay for the castle’s construction from the manor’s coffers. Of course they belonged to Hugo now as lord of the manor, but Hugo was aware that Oswin could have easily hidden them. As it was Hugo agreed to allow Oswin to continue to control the manor’s finances provided he made a generous annual payment to Hugo. The arrangement suited both men.

  He had left Burneham with mixed feelings. He was sorry to leave Rowena with this great rift between them but the tension was getting unbearable. He could only pray that her attitude had softened by the time he returned.

  Three days later the conroi made its way through the snow which had started falling as occasional flakes two hours ago. By the time they reached the town of Nottingham the flakes were the size of a penny and the wind had turned the snowfall into a blizzard. The frozen horsemen had given up trying to keep the snow from settling on their cloaks and were nearly as white as their surroundings. To the sentries stamping their feet at the gates of the town they must have looked like ghosts emerging from the swirling whiteness. Roland asked for Lord Guillaume at the town gates and was directed to the house of the mayor.

  Half an hour later Hugo was beginning to defrost as he sat in front of the mayor’s fire with a glass of wine in his hand. Guillaume sat next to him and, once their host had made his excuses and left them to it, he turned to Hugo to bring him up to date. As shire reeve of both Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire he was required by the king to build a strong castle in each county, not just motte and bailey timber structures but castles such as those in Normandy to serve as the administrative centre and to hold a sufficiently large garrison to control the county. He had started construction in Nottingham but he wanted Hugo to take charge of the one to be built at Peak Cavern in Derbyshire.

  Hugo would become its constable and deputy shire reeve as well as receiving the manors of Edale, Hathersage, Hope and Peak Cavern itself. Together with Burneham these Manors represented three knights’ fees. In other words Hugo would have to provide three knights to spend forty nights a year to guard the king in peacetime and longer in wartime. So far Hugo only had one knight, Roland, who would become his tenant on one of the manors. He would need to keep the other manors in his own hand to provide him with revenue and he would need a steward to make sure he received his due. The garrison at his castle would be a drain on Guillaume’s coffers as he was only to be constable. As lord of five manors held directly from the king he was entitled to call himself a baron, even if he was only a minor one.

  ‘What is to become of my conroi?’ He asked eventually.

  ‘You are free to recruit those knights you need to meet your military service; ten others will then be stationed with you at Peak Cavern at my expense and the rest will remain with me. You will also have twenty men at arms or archers to garrison the castle. They are yours as the deputy shire reeve of North Derbyshire mind, not yours to command as you will.’ Hugo bit back a retort. He didn’t think Guillaume needed to explain that to him, of all people. He was then dismissed, somewhat curtly he thought. So Hugo was in a foul mood when he left Guillaume. The latter seemed to have forgotten how long and how well they had known each other. When he had a chance to calm down he nearly admitted to himself that Guillaume might be too preoccupied at the moment to think about how an old friend should be treated but he batted the thought away. He might also have realised that his concern and disappointment over Rowena was affecting his own moods.

  After a bit of thought he approached Emery le Gros, the knight who fought when he was appointed to command the conroi, and a young knight called Yves, who was one of the squires he had knighted after the battle at Senlac Hill. The winter was spent in getting to know the bailiffs and the more important men on his new manors and in selecting the site for the castle. There was a natural triangular plateau about six thousand square yards in size to the south of the village of Peaks’ Cavern. It was surrounded on three sides by nearly vertical slopes, the only access being from the north to where a track zig zagged its way up the hill. There was another smaller plateau to the west across a defile and, although this was again surrounded by steep slopes, Hugo decided to construct a small stronghold here to prevent attack from this side. This would be connected to the main castle via a wooden bridge as the only means of access. Initially he would erect a wooden palisade to define the footprint of the castle with a single gate to the east. The buildings would also be of wood with a watchtower by the gate that controlled access to and from the stronghold to the west. They would be replaced in stone later. The hall would have two solars, the grander being reserved for Guillaume’s use when he visited and the other for himself. He wondered daily whether he would ever share it with Rowena and eventually he decided that he had to try again to win her round.

  Leaving Roland in charge of the castle building he headed south again in April 1067. He took Emery and Yves with him as escort as well as their squires and Sweyn. He made for London first and sought out Gilbert as one of his concerns was to find a steward to look after his manors and manage his financial affairs for him.

  ‘I always seem to be asking or receiving favours from you. Is there nothing I can do in return?’

  ‘Well, now that the king has left for Normandy to show off his Saxon guests, I could possibly take a few days off to see something of this country.’ Gilbert was referring to King William’s grand progress throughout Normandy with Edgar the Atheling and the earls of Mercia and Northumbria. The purpose was twofold: to keep the possible leaders of a Saxon uprising close to him and to make sure those left behind in his duchy were in awe of his increased power. He didn’t want any trouble on the continent whilst he completed his conquest of England.

  ‘Don’t Odo and FitzOsbern keep you busy then?’ Bishop Odo was now earl of Kent and William FitzOsbern was earl of Hereford. The king had left them as joint Justicars to rule that portion of England under his control whilst he was away.

  Gilbert snorted. ‘Odo does. He is always seeking manors for others.’ He leaned closer and lowered his voice. ‘It is a great way to get rich: you get the king to grant favours to men who then reward our good bishop for his help. I know wha
t is going on but he is the king’s half-brother and close confidant, so what can I do.’ He sat back and sighed. ‘That’s why I would like to get out of London for a few days - to cleanse the stench of corruption from my nostrils.’

  So Gilbert accompanied his friend to Burneham, promising to find him a good steward from amongst his clerks when they returned to London.

  ~#~

  Oswin was in something of a quandary. Cerdic, the father of young Siward and former thane of Farneham, had been ejected by Guillaume Peverel’s steward and a new bailiff now managed the manor. The same thing was happening all over the place as Norman and French overlords took over their new estates. Many thanes had been killed on Senlac Hill, of course, but many hadn’t and about a third of these had lost their lands.

  Cerdic and Siward had, naturally enough, sought shelter with the family of Siward’s betrothed. Oswin had taken them in for now but it made for an uncomfortable situation. At some stage the betrothal to Rowena would have to be broken as Siward now had no money and no prospects. Furthermore Cerdic found idleness difficult and felt that, as the more experienced older man, he should help Oswin, so he kept interfering with his duties as bailiff.

  Cerdic also resented living in the hall with the servants. However, as Oswin’s mother and Rowena occupied the solar and Oswin, Wulfric and Matilda, his brother’s widow, with her child occupied the three partitioned rooms in the adjoining building, there was little alternative; the second solar being reserved for the lord of the manor. True, the castle was nearing completion and Wulfric would be living there soon, as would Hugo when he visited, but that just compounded the problem. Once Cerdic and Siward moved into Wulfric’s old room they would become permanent fixtures.

  The accommodation problem was about to get worse.

  ‘My lord, welcome back to Burneham. You should have sent word and we would have prepared for your visit properly.’ Oswin was all formality in front of Gilbert as one of the king’s commissioners.

  Hugo laughed. ‘Don’t be so pompous Oswin, it doesn’t suit you.’ He clapped him on the shoulder. ‘And don’t worry about accommodation. I’m sure that Gilbert, Sweyn and I can squeeze into the second solar.’ Sweyn now slept on the truckle bed across the door to guard it and in case anything was needed during the night.

  ‘I’ll have another bed put in there at once.’

  ‘How’s Rowena?’ Hugo had promised himself that he wouldn’t appear to be over eager but his stomach was in knots and he couldn’t restrain himself any longer.

  ‘More reconciled to the new order in the country, I think.’ Oswin took Hugo to one side. ‘But I wouldn’t build your hopes up too much. I tried to tell her how you were a month ago, just after your last messenger arrived, and she just burst into tears and fled.’

  ‘That’s a good sign, isn’t it?’ Hugo began to look more hopeful.

  Oswin shrugged. ‘Who knows with women.’

  ‘What about you? Is there no-one who has caught your eye?’

  Oswin blushed. ‘I am seeking a dispensation to marry Matilda but it’s complicated as she is, or was, my sister-in-law.’

  ‘Ah. Well Gilbert may be able to help you there. He has the ear of Bishop Odo.’

  Hugo returned from viewing progress on the castle with Wulfric just before the evening meal and, quickly rinsing the dust from his face, he changed from his travelling tunic into a fine scarlet one trimmed with gold brocade. He was the last to enter the hall and was delighted to see Rowena was present. He was less delighted to see that he was seated in the high chair between Gilbert and Hilda, Oswin’s elderly mother. Rowena was seated several places away between Wulfric and a man he didn’t recognise. A boy of about ten or eleven sat on the man’s other side.

  ‘Who is the man sitting next to Rowena and who is the boy?’ He asked Hilda after they had exchanged a few words of polite conversation.

  ‘Oh, he’s Cerdic who you Normans expelled from his manor of Farneham. The boy is his son and Rowena’s betrothed.’ Hugo remembered then that he had been told about Siward on his last visit a few months ago but he had assumed that the betrothal would have been broken off by now.

  ‘Mind you.’ The old woman continued, as if reading his thoughts. ‘Oswin will have to do something soon. She can’t marry a penniless child. It’s such a pity too. Cerdic used to be Earl Harold’s under-steward before he married Enid to gain Farneham.’

  Hugo was thinking about Rowena again so he nearly missed the reference to Cerdic’s previous life. He smiled to himself. Perhaps he could kill two birds with one stone.

  The next day he had a word with Oswin, who was delighted at the thought of getting rid of his two unwelcome guests, so he sent for Cerdic to meet him in his solar.

  ‘I’m told that you were under-steward for Harold Godwinson, Cerdic.’ He looked at the man standing before him. He looked to be about forty and was smaller than average with an open face and, unusually for a Saxon, no moustache.

  ‘I was my lord, for twelve years.’

  ‘Why did you leave his service?’

  ‘He wished to reward my service and gave me the opportunity to marry an heiress who had become his ward when her husband died childless.’

  ‘There was no other, more sinister, reason for his actions?’

  ‘What do you mean my lord?’

  ‘I mean that twelve years does not seem a long time; certainly not long enough to warrant the granting of a manor.’

  Cerdic smiled grimly. ‘It is possible that the steward felt a little threatened by me and was glad to see the back of someone who was more competent that he was.’ This was said with some pride.

  ‘I see. Well I am minded to offer you the post of my steward. I don’t have a great estate, just this manor and four more in North Derbyshire but, as deputy shire reeve I don’t have the time to look after them myself.’

  If Cerdic had been expecting this offer he hid it well. ‘I am overcome, my lord. Thank you. Yes, well, that’s most kind of you. Of course I accept.’ He then had a thought. ‘What about my son, Siward. He is betrothed to Rowena, though it will be three years before he can legally marry.’

  ‘One of the conditions of my offer is that you break off the betrothal: Siward will be coming with us to Derbyshire.’

  ‘I have a feeling that Oswin will greet the news with some relief.’ He smiled ruefully to himself, then looked Hugo straight in the eye. ‘I clung to the hope that the marriage might go ahead so that he, and I, had a place to call home but, of course, that is no longer necessary. I’ll let Oswin know straight away.’

  That afternoon Rowena asked to speak to Hugo. He entered the main solar with some trepidation. Rowena and her mother were sitting near the arrow slit that served as a window. Hilda was doing some embroidery by the feeble light that filtered in through the slit. She didn’t look up as Hugo entered but Rowena stopped clasping and unclasping her hands and leapt up.

  ‘Oh! Hugo; thank you for coming.’ The flustered girl looked at the floor and Hugo took the opportunity to study her for a moment. She had changed from the maiden he had fallen in love with; of course she was now seventeen and a young woman. The heart shaped elfin face was still the same but the hint of fun and mischief in her habitual expression had been replaced by one of pathos. Her body had filled out nicely but she was still a little on the thin side.

  ‘I wanted to thank you for solving Cedric’s predicament – and ours, of course. It was kind of you.’

  ‘I was doing myself a favour too. He will make a good steward I think. But I am glad that it has also solved a problem here.’

  ‘More than one.’ Hilda muttered without looking up from her needlework.

  ‘Yes Mother, more than one.’ Rowena agreed, she turned back to Hugo. ‘My betrothal to Siward has been annulled too. Not that I ever wanted a boy six years younger than me.’ She looked down at the ground again. ‘There was only one man I ever wanted.’

  Hugo’s heart leapt. ‘And who might the lucky young man be?’

&nbs
p; ‘Oh, don’t be obtuse Hugo, you know it has always been you.’ Rowena looked him straight in the eye. ‘The trouble was you are a Norman and I can’t forget what they have done to us.’

  Hugo felt that it was probably not the moment to say that he was a Mainard rather than a Norman.

  ‘However, you have been very good to my family and I know you treat Saxons fairly. Otherwise you wouldn’t have one as your steward and another as your body servant.’

  ‘Rowena, you know I love you and I have for the last four years. There is no other woman for me and there never will be. Scarcely a day goes past that I don’t think of you and long for you to be by my side and in my bed.’ He stopped as she started to cry.

  ‘I feel the same; it’s just that I can’t bring myself to…’ She broke off and wiped her eyes. ‘I just feel that I am betraying my people and there are times when I hate myself for loving you. It’s all so difficult.’

  ‘Nonsense.’ Her mother got up stiffly and put down her embroidery on a coffer. ‘You two love each other and you know you don’t want Oswin to find you another Saxon husband, do you?’ Rowena shook her head dumbly. ‘Well then, you have a choice – you marry Hugo or you enter a convent. You can’t stay here forever, especially as Oswin will want to move Matilda and little Alfred in here when they wed.’

  Rowena hadn’t thought of this; in fact she hadn’t thought much about the future at all.

  ‘What will you do then? This is your home.’ Her daughter asked anxiously.

  ‘Well I’m planning to move into the small solar once the castle is completed as I am assuming that Sir Hugo and his lady will stay there when they visit.’

  ‘His lady?’ Rowena was confused.